Roundup: Somali Parliament endorses new cabinet

Somali Parliament on Monday approved a new list of cabinet submitted by the country's prime minister, paving way for the formation of a fully functional government.

Speaker Mohamed Sheikh Osman Jawari announced that 191 out of 220 lawmakers present during the session voted for the 66-member cabinet, a significant show of confidence in the new cabinet that is largely composed of technocrats.

Jawari said the parliament gave a vote of full confidence to the new government after considering the difficulties and huge tasks ahead.

Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke has in the last two months faced stiff resistance from parliament, forcing him to withdraw his cabinet two times over concerns that some of the nominated ministers were the president's allies whose performance in the last cabinet they termed unsatisfactory.

Since the ousting of the former Prime Minister Abdiweli in a no confidence vote by parliament last December, Somalia has been without a functional government with the process of forming a new government riddled with power struggles.

Professor Yahye Ali Ibrahim, a political analyst and president of Somali International University, expressed optimism on the new cabinet, terming the appointment of experts outside parliament a bold and wise step towards a more development focused government.

"I am positive about this cabinet that it will deliver tangible results to this country because of their skill and expertise in various fields," Ibrahim told Xinhua.

"There is however a lot of work to be done, including confidence building between the institutions of the prime minister, the presidency and parliament. The delivery of vision 2016 is the greatest challenge this new cabinet has to brace hard for," he added.

Mohamed Omar Dalha, a lawmaker said parliament unanimously approved the new cabinet after listening to the concerns of the people.

"We made this decision today in respect of the voice of the people who have called on us severally to put our differences aside and focus our energies in building the nation," Dalha said.

The new cabinet was immediately sworn in, and will be expected to address a number of issues including the formation of the National Electoral and Federal Commission to prepare the country for referendum on the provisional constitution and subsequent universal elections in 2016.

The announcement by U.S. bank to close accounts for money transfer companies to Somalia is also among the issues the new cabinet has to deal with to avert possible crisis out of the bank's decision.

Parliament also today paid its respects to their fallen colleague, Abdulah Qayad Bare, who was killed by Al-Shabaab militants few hours before the vote. Endi